Pictured Above: This year’s applicant turnout has been slightly better than last year, but still leaves vacant seats in the St. Petersburg Campus Council.
Courtesy of Cassidy Schuck
By Catherine Hicks
USF’s newly consolidated Student Government is holding its second general election March 8 through 11.
St. Petersburg’s gubernatorial race will be uncontested and Campus Council vacancies are possible.
Since the changes of consolidation were put into effect, USF St. Petersburg has struggled to fill its seats on its Campus Council and system-wide Senate.
In the first election for the seats last year, only one student applied for Campus Council and six for the Senate.
This year’s applicant turnout has been slightly better than last year, but still leaves vacant seats in the St. Petersburg Campus Council.
Three students applied for the Senate, three for the Campus Council and 11 applied for both the Senate and Campus Council. This means, depending on the election results, there could be vacancies in the Campus Council.
When SG candidates are simultaneously running for two offices, and win both races, they assume the higher office. So the results from the 11 candidates who ran for both the Campus Council and the Senate could leave seats in the Campus Council unfilled.
The next governor and lt. governor for the St. Petersburg campus will be elected in an uncontested election. Veronica Jimenez and Eran Fruehauf are the only registered gubernatorial ticket on the St. Petersburg campus.
Jimenez has served as a Senator, Senate Pro Tempore and Senate President before consolidation. She now serves as a Senator in the system-wide Senate. Fruehaf also currently serves in the system-wide Senate, and chairs the St. Petersburg Campus Council.
Of the three president and vice president tickets, none originated from the St. Petersburg or Sarasota-Manatee campuses.
The tickets include Julia Cunningham and Jillian Wilson, Jaida Abbas and Jennifer Kelly and Gustavo Spangher and Yovela Debesay; all of whom are Tampa students.
Spangher is serving this term as system-wide vice president.
Over last summer, the Tampa campus was rocked by over 60 allegations of sexual misconduct. Spangher was one of many fraternity members that was accused.
In a July 3 The Crow’s Nest article, Spangher responded to the allegations.
He expressed that he was “extremely sad to be put in this situation, but I will be collaborating with any investigations that come my way.”
Though it has no presidential tickets, the St. Petersburg campus is no stranger to low turnout in both applicants and voters.
In the St. Petersburg fall 2020 SG special election, only 30 students voted. Then, only 11 students voted in the fall 2020 interim special election.
In a Nov. 15 The Crow’s Nest article, former student and SG member Dan McGarigal said SG is in part to blame for low turnout in its special elections.
“(The voter turnout) is an utter failure on the part of SG and the candidates to make sure students knew this was happening and make sure they know what each person stands for,” McGarigal said. “ ‘It’s hard virtually’ is not an excuse. Laziness is not electable. Get it together SG. We built you up better than this.”
SG adviser Bob Herron said that other environmental factors are contributing to lower SG turnout.
“… You have consolidation, you have lower enrollment … and yet there are people who still feel like, even though we’re going through all these things, that the output needs to be the same,” Herron said. “And I think that’s just a lie. And I think it’s unfair to put that burden on students.”
A live stream presidential debate will be held on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. and moderated by The Crow’s Nest, The Oracle and a representative from the Sarasota-Manatee campus.
Sophie Ojdanic and Trevor Martindale contributed to this report.
